Salt the raw chicken thighs with kosher or sea salt, and place them in a resealable gallon size plastic bag. After salting the chicken, prepare the marinade in a medium size bowl. Add garlic and preserved lemon first, then jam and balsamic. Slowly whisk the olive oil in, as you would do when making a vinaigrette. Pour the marinade over the chicken thighs, seal the bag, shake to coat the thighs, and then refrigerate. Allow the chicken to marinate for a minimum of 30 minutes.

To cook: heat a skillet (we prefer cast iron) over medium high heat. Allow the pan to heat up for 3-5 minutes, then pour the contents of the bag (chicken and marinade) into the pan, flipping the thighs with a tongs every couple of minutes for even cooking. Cook the thighs for 8-10 minutes, or until a meat thermometer inserted in the center of a thigh reads 165degrees. As the chicken cooks, spoon the marinade over it in the pan, allowing the sugar to cook off and start to caramelize. Allow the chicken to brown slightly.

Serve the thighs whole with rosemary roasted potatoes, curried cauliflower, sauteed chard with garlic and walnuts, or any of your favorite vegetable sides. They are also delicious if they are chopped and used for sandwich meat on a kaiser roll or pretzel bun.

Preserved lemons

Spices: we like to use black peppercorn, pink peppercorn, whole cloves, whole allspice, chili flake, star anise, cinnamon stick and fennel seeds. Create your own spice blend, according to your taste, but be sure to use whole spices, not ground.

Glass quart Mason jar, with a plastic lid.

Pour a thin layer of kosher salt in the bottom of the jar, then pack a tight layer of lemons over the salt. Pour kosher salt and add some of your spice mix over the top of the layer. Repeat salt-lemon-spice layers to the top of the jar, making sure to tightly pack lemons down into the jar as you go. Cap with the lid and store in a dark, cool cupboard. Turn the jar gently up and down a few times every 2-3 days, to allow the salt and spices to even coat the lemons. The lemons are ready after about 3 weeks in the cupboard. When you pull one out, it should be soft and have a deeper yellow color. The salt will start to liquefy (this is the preservation in process). Pull out a wedge, remove the pulp, and rinse the peel thoroughly in cool water. Chop and add, to taste, to any of your favorite dishes for a bright, brackish note. We love using it in everything from chicken to lasagna to cheesecake.